From the April Issue of America@work
Browse: <Current Issue Features & Highlights> <Past Issues>

By Mike Hall

Today's workplace safety and health protections are the result of decades-long struggles by workers and their unions who continue to fight to save lives on the job

The Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act): Calling it a “safety Bill of Rights,” grassroots activists succeeded in pressing Congress to establish the OSH Act in 1970, which created the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The act gave OSHA broad powers to set and enforce workplace safety rules—from exposure to toxic substances to dangerous working conditions to employer accountability for job safety. It also established a system of fines and penalties for employers that violate the law. Coal Mine Health and Safety Act and Federal Mine Safety and Health Act: Thousands of coal miners' lives and health have been saved because of the 1969 coal act and the 1977 mine act, which created the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA). MSHA requires four inspections a year in each underground mine, increases federal enforcement powers in mines, establishes civil and criminal penalties for safety violations and provides compensation for miners disabled by black lung, the fatal respiratory disease caused by exposure to coal dust. Coal Mine Health and Safety Act and Federal Mine Safety and Health Act: Thousands of coal miners’ lives and health have been saved because of the 1969 coal act and the 1977 mine act, which created the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA). MSHA requires four inspections a year in each underground mine, increases federal enforcement powers in mines, establishes civil and criminal penalties for safety violations and provides compensation for miners disabled by black lung, the fatal respiratory disease caused by exposure to coal dust. Asbestos: The first-ever OSHA standard addressing worker exposure to asbestos has been especially critical for shipyard, manufacturing and construction workers. OSHA issued the first asbestos rule in 1972 and issued a new standard in 1986 that was strengthened even further in 1994, cutting exposure limits in half for nearly 4 million workers—saving 42 lives a year, according to OSHA projections.		"Mourn for the dead. Fight like hell for the living." Mother Jones’s most famous quotation has been at heart of each Workers Memorial Day, a day each year when America’s workers and their unions honor the thousands of men and women killed on the job and the hundreds of thousands more hurt or made ill by workplace hazards. On this Workers Memorial Day, April 28, events and actions around the nation also will celebrate the more than a quarter of a million working men and women alive today because of the far-reaching and successful workplace safety battles workers and their unions have won. Successful worker action resulted in passage of the 1969 Coal Mine Health and Safety Act, the establishment of the 1970 Occupational Safety and Health Act as well as hundreds of job safety and health initiatives, from cotton dust laws to needle-stick regulations. The result: Since 1970, the nation’s workplace fatality rate has dropped more than 70 percent, from 18 deaths per 100,000 workers to 4.3 deaths per 100,000 in 2001, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and the National Safety Council (NSC). In 1970, 13,800 workers died on the job, compared with 5,900 in 2001, not including the 2,886 workers who died in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Fewer workers also are getting hurt and sick, with the injury and illness rate falling from 11 per 100 workers in 1973 to 5.7 per 100 in 2001, a 48 percent decrease. As health and safety activists renew the fight for job safety this Workers Memorial Day (see page 21), here’s a look at major safety and health initiatives workers and their unions have fought for and won—saving more than a quarter of million lives in every segment of the nation’s workplaces. Get Involved in Workers Memorial Day Hundreds of Workers Memorial Day events are scheduled in cities around the nation, from candlelight vigils and marches to letter writing and petition signing campaigns. Find out what's happening in your area and how to organize an event or order Workers Memorial Day materials online or by contacting the AFL-CIO Occupational Safety and Health Department, 202-637-5366, e-mail oshamail@aflcio.org.     From America@work, April 2003.
Toxic emissions: In 1974, Steelworkers and their allies won passage of a standard limiting exposure to toxic emissions issued in the steel-making process from coke ovens. Coke oven emissions pose a significant risk of cancer, including lung and urinary tract as well as skin tumors and nonmalignant respiratory diseases. The standard set a permissible exposure limit for coke oven emissions and requires that employers regularly monitor workers for exposure. Lead exposure: Smelter workers make up the largest segment of the 835,000 workers affected by the 1978 standard that cut the permissible levels of lead exposure by three-quarters. Lead exposure can cause serious damage to nervous, urinary and reproductive systems. In 1993, a lead exposure standard for construction workers was adopted. Cotton dust exposure: Cotton dust, which especially affects textile workers, can cause the debilitating lung disease byssinosis, commonly known as brown lung. In 1978, a new cotton dust standard reduced permissible dust levels to such an extent that brown lung was virtually eliminated. Hazard communication standard: The 1983 hazard communication standard gives all workers the right to know about the potential hazards of toxic chemicals used by manufacturers and employers. The standard requires chemical manufacturers to provide information and training to employers and workers and sets new labeling standards for toxic chemicals. Field sanitation standard: Agriculture workers who work planting, harvesting and processing crops such as oranges, tomatoes, broccoli and berries won new health protections in 1987 when a new field sanitation standard was issued. Covering 470,000 workers at the time it was issued, the standard requires agricultural employers to provide workers with potable drinking water and toilet and hand-washing facilities. This standard protected workers from the spread of communicable diseases and agrichemical-related illnesses.		Grain dust standard: Grain mill workers at some 24,000 grain handling facilities faced serious fire and explosion threats from high levels of highly combustible grain dust. In 1987, the 155,000 workers in the grain industry won new standards that called for major suppression and control of grain dust. Lock-out rules: Manufacturing workers won protection in 1989 from the unexpected start-up or energizing of equipment such as conveyor belts, presses and industrial mixers that can cause serious injury or death. The new tag-out/lock-out rules established procedures in which employers must prominently mark or prevent access to dangerous equipment. OSHA estimates show the new standards prevent 120 deaths and 50,000 injuries a year. Hazardous waste: Public and private hazardous waste clean-up workers gained new safety protections in 1989 when rules covering hazardous waste operations and emergency response to toxic spills were established. When the safety rule was adopted, OSHA estimated some 1.75 million workers would benefit from the new protections. Bloodborne pathogens: Health care workers risk exposure to infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS and hepatitis B though bloodborne pathogens. In 1991, health care workers and their unions won new workplace rules to protect some 5.6 million health care workers—and OSHA estimates those standards prevent some 9,000 infections and 200 deaths per year. In 2000, health workers fought for and won new protections to prevent accidental needle-stick injuries because of poor syringe design and improper needle disposal. Postal worker safety: Postal workers had been excluded from protection under the OSH Act. But in 1998, after a successful campaign by the nation’s postal unions and their more than 1 million members, workplace safety at the U.S. Postal Service came under OSHA standards and enforcement. Ergonomics standard: Workers in Washington State and California fought for and won new ergonomics standards to prevent back, neck, arm and other injuries caused by repetitive stress, lifting and poorly designed work areas. The California standard was issued in 1997, and the Washington standard became law in 2000. A federal ergonomics standard also was issued in 2000, but was struck down in one of George W. Bush's first acts as president when he supported and signed legislation that repealed the nation’s ergonomics standard.
Next steps Worker safety and health laws have grown stronger and more effective over the years through the efforts of strong unions and mobilized members. But more work needs to be done. This Workers Memorial Day, health and safety activists are taking the next steps toward guaranteeing worker safety on the job by: Ensuring all workers have OSHA protection. Coverage must be extended to the millions of state and local government employees, transportation and others who fall outside the OSH Act’s protection. Addressing new safety and health issues arising from the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, including biohazards, emergency response and security and surveillance of workers cleaning up the World Trade Center site. Confronting new threats to workers’ safety and health—repetitive strain injuries, workplace violence and stress and extended work hours—as changes in technology, work processes and management techniques are introduced. Updating standards and issuing new rules to limit exposures to toxic chemicals, silica, ergonomics hazards and other dangers. Securing fair and timely compensation for the hundreds of thousands of workers who have been exposed to asbestos and have or will develop serious disease. @